Disclaimer- I do not own DBZ or any of it's characters. I do, however, own Lithia, just to make that clear.
Author's Note- This is just a brief background note on the story and my own addition to the usual characters- Lithia. She was designed on the rather sketchy concept of what might be considered an ideal woman for a saiyan. Seeing as there are no females of said species in the series (as far as I've seen), there wasn't much to go on.
This probably seems like a totally weird fic, but it's my first so I shall exhaust my right to be a little out of the ordinary. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter One
Vegeta leant moodily against the wall of his cell, his dark eyes cast downward; he was sick of the sight of this room, his prison of eleven years.
It was late. The prince had a prompt sunrise start for his training schedule the next morning, and he was weary from a day of thrashing it out with Raditz. Yet he could not bring himself to retire to his bunk. Instead he merely sat on the cold, steel floor, listening to the sounds from the rooms either side of him.
To the left was Nappa's cell. He could hear his gargantuan minder's snores through the thick metal wall. The cell to his right was Lithia's. Not a sound emanated through her wall, and this bothered him. By now she was normally in her bunk, her Mozart playing softly on as she slept. But tonight there was no Mozart, which could mean only one thing- she was not in her cell. If she was not in her cell, there was only one other place she could be...with him.
Vegeta knew that Frieza had never yet laid a hand on her, and his summoning her in the middle of the night was all a ploy to eat away at his nerves. It worked- he was positively livid. Lithia was the remnant of a world that had been robbed from him over a decade ago. She was a living, breathing reminder of his father- the girl who had been promised to him since he was four years old.
"She will be your consort when you're of age, my son," his father had told him matter-of-factly, just after their first meeting with her. "A good saiyan, from a good fighting family. And from the looks of her siblings, she'll be a beauty."
The four-year-old prince had scowled up at his father.
"But why? I don't need her! I'm going to be powerful enough to rule this planet alone!"
His father had laughed and cuffed him playfully on the ear.
"I'm sure you will," he'd smiled, "But you can't continue the royal bloodline by yourself. You'll need a female to help you."
"Why?" Vegeta had asked, scowling more deeply.
Again his father had laughed heartily.
Vegeta couldn't help but smile at this memory. Of course he knew now what his father had meant; he knew his father had been right. Not that it was of any use. There was no planet to rule anymore, no royal bloodline to continue. They were the only ones left.
Suddenly the sound of voices caught his attention- two males and one female approaching just outside. The first he heard clearly was Frieza's, high-pitched and cold, clashing with the other milder and calmer tone, which he recognised to be Lithia's. The third he could no longer hear, yet he had no doubt it was Zarbon- the sycophantic lap dog never left his master's side.
"Why do you insist on trying to annoy him?" Lithia asked haughtily. Vegeta grinned to himself in the darkness- she'd be a natural ruler! Imperious to the core, even to the beast who'd destroyed her entire race.
"I do have to have some form of entertainment whilst we're on the move," came the dictator's sneering reply. "I shall enjoy seeing his arrogant face crumple in the morning when he finds out where you've been!"
Frieza laughed cruelly, causing the prince to spring to his feet, his gloved hands curling tightly into fists as he tried to control his temper. It was no good to loose it in front of the lizard- he'd only wind up with serious injuries and that would give him more cause to laugh at his expense. Instead he kept quiet, breathing slowly and deliberately, still listening.
"I tire of you," Lithia responded. "Will you leave now and let me rest?"
There was the sharp slapping sound of skin on skin and the smallest of cries from Lithia.
"You're as insolent as he is," the overlord muttered icily. "Now get out of my sight before I do hurt you!"
Vegeta heard the hiss of the hydraulic door as it opened, then the sound of two sets of footsteps retreating to the right. He waited for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest, and his blood positively boiling. When his oppressor's footsteps had faded out of earshot, the prince though it safe to leave his cell.
As quietly as he could and controlling his rage, he teleported into the next room. Lithia was sitting on her bunk, a mirror in her hand, gazing angrily into the glass. She looked up as she heard him enter and rose to her feet.
"Vegeta," she murmured softly, and she knelt before him as a gesture of the respect she'd never lost for her sovereign. He gave her the customary touch on her bowed head and she stood again, her eyes meeting his. "I wondered how long you'd wait before coming in."
Vegeta perched himself precariously on her bunk, studying the expression on her face. She was livid, clearly, yet controlling herself in the way only she could.
"And how did you know I was awake?" he asked, casually inspecting his fingernails.
Lithia looked back at him and flashed him a sly smile.
"I felt your ki flare when he hit me…just the smallest flicker, but I knew you were listening."
The teenage prince cursed himself for being so blatant. Lithia laughed, interpreting the irritated look on his face, and she came to sit opposite him.
"He knew too," she said earnestly. "That's the only reason he hit me. He knew it would annoy you."
"And why would he think I'd care?" Vegeta snarled, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest. Lithia just smiled again, her eyes flashing with dark humour.
"'Cause I'm your property, Vegeta," she said, grinning. "I've had the royal stamp across my head since I was three- "Property of the Prince". And it ticks you off to see other people man-handling your stuff, doesn't it?"
Vegeta resisted the urge to shove her off the bed. It annoyed him that she could read him like a book, that she somehow knew his mind. He wondered if it was a power bestowed upon a future queen: the ability to read their consorts, so they could cater to their every whim. If it was, then she was grossly abusing it, using it to wind him up. Well, two could play at that game! He reached out at and cupped her under the chin a little roughly.
"Did he leave a mark, then?" he asked, inspecting either side of her face. "You know I won't have damaged goods."
Lithia screamed with rage and stomped over to the window, though not before delivering a swift punch to his shoulder. Vegeta laughed and stretched out across her bunk. His tail twitched playfully about his shoulders as he continued.
"He's cut your cheek," he drawled, grinning at the angry look on his subject's face. "It could scar! No, I can't have that." He rolled onto his side to face her. "I'll have to give you to Raditz now. Or perhaps Nappa. He looks like he could use a fresh chunk of girl meat."
"You!" she hissed, forgetting her manners and rushing at him. The prince merely caught her about the waist and flipped her onto the bed next to him, smiling cruelly down at her. He loved to tease her as much as Freiza loved to torment him. Neither Nappa nor Raditz were as much fun to toy with as she was. She was, after all, a female, and saiyan women were proud, more so than the men.
"You're a complete wretch," Lithia growled, her dark eyes flashing angrily.
"And you are such a girl," Vegeta replied, grinning. He cocked his head, this time looking properly at the gash Frieza's clawed hand had made just below her right eye. It was still wet with blood and looked a little deeper than he'd suspected.
"He did cut you," he said, sobering himself. "If you treat it properly, it won't scar. I shall have Nappa tend to it in the morning."
He rose off the bunk and made towards the door, feeling Lithia's gaze following him.
"You're training tomorrow?" she asked.
"When have you known me not train, Lithia?" he replied shortly, casting a quick look back at her. She was still lying where he'd thrown her, her long hair a little tousled and her face and eyes burning with fury.
"I don't know why he won't let me fight with you," she hissed, turning her head indignantly towards the window. Vegeta couldn't help but grin. Freiza's rather misogynistic attitude towards females had frustrated her for years. He found it all quite amusing. Not only did it annoy Lithia, something he thought endlessly entertaining, it was also putting the evil overlord to a great disadvantage- and all because of his own sexist ideas.
"Because he is an ignorant fool," the prince replied. "Perhaps it is our key to defeating him. You still train, do you not?"
"Oh Vegeta, you know it's hardly training unless you are matched with a challenging partner!" Lithia whined. "Those women he pits me against are pathetic! I could kill them all in all in one go and he knows it. Stupid lizard!"
"Now, now," Vegeta taunted sarcastically. "Less disrespect from you, or he'll be back to scar your other cheek. We can't have that now, can we?"
He began to laugh but stopped when he realised his female companion did not share his amusement.
"Don't rise to anything he tells you," she said, quietly, averting her eyes. "Whatever he says, it's all lies. I'm not about to dishonour your father's wishes, regardless of whether or not you want me."
The prince folded his arms across his chest again. His disliked it when she implied…no, assumed that he cared for her. Whether he did or not was utterly irrelevant! He could not let another person get that impression. They would, like Freiza, use it against him.
"Once again, you assume that I give a shit," Vegeta responded coldly. He shot her a dark look before teleporting back to his cell.